Wedding Rings for the Ethical Bride
Most single women would give anything to start all the fun of wedding planning before she officially has the ring, so here’s your excuse to do so. If your personal values have led you to follow a more environmentally and socially conscious lifestyle, then your wedding will likely be no exclusion. There are literally thousands of ways to make your wedding more “green” and one in particular comes into play before he even gets down on one knee.
- » See also: Ecogear Praises Recycled and Nixes Bamboo
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It’s amazing how uneducated and distanced we’ve become from the goods we buy. Until the past few years, we didn’t even ask the questions, ‘where did this come from?’ or ‘who did this affect?’ But now, more than ever, we are becoming aware that we can’t always take products at face value. Behind some of our most beloved purchases, including sparkling jewelry, there is a dirty secret involving worker exploitation, toxic pollution and cultural destruction.
The list of sins committed by the traditional jewelry market is too long to list here, but I’ll give you a few.
• Gem mining has been (and still is) a vehicle for violent conflict and forced labor
• Miners and gemstone artisans are often underpaid for their work and not provided safety provisions or benefits
• Metal mining is the #1 toxic polluter in America
• Metal mining is the cause of Acid Mine Drainage, which is destroying our drinkable waters
If this is not the type of activity you’d like to support, then I encourage you to drop a subtle little hint to your soon-to-be-fiance that, if he’s thinking of popping the question, you’d like to have a say in where he gets the ring.
Lucky for you, there are several options for sourcing ethical engagement rings from organizations that have taken great pains to get it right…scrutinizing every detail of their supply chain to make certain that they can exert as much positive influence on worker treatment, social interaction (conflict-free) and environmental protection as possible.
C5 Company
Today’s modern bride is not limited to mere diamonds in her selection of a wedding ring. Check out this stunning ruby for a more contemporary approach.
C5 specializes in custom designed wedding rings to reflect your unique taste. They use recycled precious metals, fair trade gems and lab-grown genuine gems to minimize impact on the environment and protect workers rights.
Pictured below: “Ruby AT4″: 100% recycled palladium, 1 4-ct. lab-created ruby and 34 lab-created ruby accent gems
CRED Jewellery
If you plan to follow tradition, here’s a convenient way to scratch that ‘something blue’ off your bridal to do list.
In sourcing materials, CRED seeks full transparency from mine to retail. CRED use natural stones and very rarely they will be heat-treated. The diamonds wherever possible come from fully traceable sources. All gold and platinum is supplied by their partners Oro Verde.
Pictured below: Aquamarine Trilogy Ring - Aquamarine emerald cut trilogy ring set in 18 carat white gold - £1595.00
Artisan Wedding Rings
Crafted by true artists who pour their creative talents into each ring using 100% recycled gold, platinum and silver as well as conflict-free Diamonds and fair trade gemstones.
About the Author
Katherine DalPra is owner/designer for Green Diva, an online boutique of eco-friendly bridal jewelry and eco-friendly fashion jewelry.
Great post. I recently got engaged and although I didn’t have any say in the ring as I’m not a big jewelry person my fiance did assure me the diamond was ‘conflict-free’. At least now when we’re looking for wedding bands I’ll take more environmental factors into consideration.
Unconscionable marketing bullshit aimed at stupid people.
I’m sorry you feel that way Bob. However, I would like to assure my readers that I have studied this field extensively and can guarantee that the efforts to locate and track conflict-free and Fair Trade gems are tremendous. It is no secret that the gemstone, pearl and metal mining industry thrives off of worker exploitation and unhealthy working conditions…not to mention the careless damage of natural resources. It isn’t a marketing ploy or “green washing.” It is a fact that we, in developed countries, are not exposed to because most of it takes place outside populated areas and inside indigenous communities and poorer nations.
Although my company does not sell engagement rings, we do provide eco-friendly and Fair Trade bridal jewelry for the wedding day and pulling together the resources and materials for this was nothing short of painstaking. I understand the value of what these jewelers are doing because I have studied the issues and immersed myself in participating with like-minded jewelers to correct them.
Have you heard of DNA2Diamonds? They create beautiful eco-friendly, lab-grown diamonds from a lock of hair – They also have a holiday special going on now – it’s on their home page — check it out: http://www.dna2diamonds.com
Thanks for including us in this article. For more information about sustainable jewelry, see http://www.WearYourCommitment.com.
Really nice post. It’s great to see that even the jewelry companies are going green these days. I think more people should follow this example. Just get green wedding bands that’s also just as stylish as the other metals. But again everyone has different tastes and believes…
I also give tips on choosing wedding bands on my blog:
http://buywomensweddingbands.com
Feel free to check it out and add your comments